<p>im a first time mp3 player buyer and i want to know which one would be best for me (esp since i will be in college next fall). besides an ipod what else is good?</p>
<p>about 4Gig
no more then $180
compatible with many kinds of music services (Windows media player, itunes etc)</p>
<p>also can you use mp3 players on multiple computers to get music? i guess some are only compatible with one computer. </p>
<p>thanks!</p>
<p>Well, definently do the Nano. But other ones include:
RCA players - some have removable/expandable memory, so it takes a mini-SD card and you can add up to about 2-4G, but the cards are sometimes expensive. Also, the CreativeZen i've heard is really nice, and is about $140.<br>
Sandisk Sensa is pretty nice too, my dad looked into getting one for my brother and it was great, but he gave in to the iPod just because he knew he was going to buy one eventually.
Samsung I know makes some, and after owning two Samsung phones, and having other Samsung stuff at home, I've never been dissapointed. But i'm not too sure on the MP3 players.</p>
<p>My best advice? Go on to amazon.com and search each product (go to places like circuitcity.com and see which options are available, because you can search for 1GB 2GB 4GB 8GB models and you can search for prices ranges like 0-100, 101-150, and 151-200. This might help you find out what models are out there). Once you find the models, go onto amazon.com and search each product and look at the user reviews. I've never had a problem with anything that i've first checked out on amazon.com and made sure other people liked it. With it being user reviews, people are pretty honest. If it looks anything more than about 1/4 of the reviews are bad, I woulnd't buy it. But you're always going to run into a few bad reviews, but if the overall consensus is good, then it's a good buy.
good luck!</p>
<p>PS - go for the iPod =P I don't know anyone who doesn't like theirs, and with the cool colors on top of the cool cases you can get, plus the price, its a deal.</p>
<p>I really like the iPod. There's a very good reason it's the most popular mp3 player on the market. And longevity on the market is NOT a reason. Fords have been around longer than toyotas in the US market, but toyota sales beat ford sales year after year. When everyone owns an ipod, there's a very good reason for it.</p>
<p>How many ipod owners have actually tried some of the other offerings? Not a very high amount by what I've encountered. Most ipod owners don't do research into the subject and assume that ipod has the best product. While now, it arguably does, it hasn't in the past. Features like color screen and even something like on the fly playlists were engineered by other companies first. </p>
<p>Rant aside, I am a large fan of the creative zen series. A micro wouldn't be bad for the size you are looking for.</p>
<p>Yea...my ipod broke 3 years ago, and I havent bothered to go get a new one.</p>
<p>Cd players all the way! just kidding.</p>
<p>check out the zune...it might cost a little more than what you want to spend though</p>
<p>i just sold a microsoft zune 30gb online yesterday for $220, got it as a presetn :D</p>
<p>I went through 3 creative zen micros in 1 year before switching to an ipod. I've had one iPod for over a year now and it's working fine. Same can't be said for my dad's which broke in 6 months (but it still lasted longer than two of my creatives). My friend's creative zen touch crapped out on him in less than a year as well. The scroll pad stopped responding. Every product will have its own problems, but in my few experiences, creative doesn't last (but I do like it's features more).</p>
<p>Id say the sansa e200 series...they are pretty nice and cheap on amazon.
If not them.,....then Id prolly go for the Creative. You may be able to get a 30Gb if your willling to go up 10-20 dollars in price.</p>
<p>thanks for the info guys...well i have been looking around and i think the creative zen micro might work best for me...and there are pretty cheap ones on amazon. but i have a couple questions for the zen micro users...</p>
<ol>
<li>can you use itunes to get music</li>
<li>can you hook up your zen micro to multiple computers to get music? most of my friends use itunes (they have ipods) and i was wondering if i can just get music off of them using the micro. i have all my music stored in windows media player...so it wouldnt be convenient to get an ipod.</li>
</ol>
<p>the only thing i don't like about my iPod is it won't play files from Limewire or Rukkus, but other than that its great</p>
<p>iPods are like Abercrombie. Just because everybody wears it doesn't mean it's "the best". It's just what's "in".</p>
<p>Personally...Sandisk is where it's at. So cheap. And so good.</p>
<p>Yeah, I agree iPods are the best. I had two other MP3 players (a Creative and a Gateway) and they both broke within a year. Definetley go for a Nano.</p>
<p>my sister has a 6 gig Creative Zen Micro and she (and i) love the thing. the sound quality is excellent, bar none, iPods included. the features are ridiculous...FM radio with ability to record, voice recorder, and i believe on-the-fly playlisting. granted it crapped out on her after several drops, and the final drop into a cup full of water (how? i have NO idea haha).</p>
<p>i would have gotten a Creative product myself, but my friends got me a 4 gig iPod Nano for my birthday. but i'm not going to complain, the thing is amazing, i use it everywhere. you can't go wrong with either brand, it just comes down to matters of taste and aesthetics really. i really enjoy how portable the Nano is...the capacity-to-size ratio* is truly remarkable.</p>
<p>(*made up stat :D)</p>
<p>one thing i will say...i've had numerous experiences with RCA products, and they always seem to malfunction somehow. they're cheap, and definitely not without reason.</p>
<p>On the flip side, my friend has gone through two ipods in the time that I've stayed on my Zen touch(1.5 years). In my experience, its been the iPod that always breaks early. In any case, all products break according to how you use them. Dropping it a couple times will break most any mp3 player, especially HD based ones. So if thats happened to you and thats why it crapped out, well thats your fault, not the players.</p>
<p>I've recently upgraded to a Zen Vision:W. I love the wide screen for watching anime while on the plane ride to school and for those long van trips with Ultimate.</p>
<p>Otherwise, I hear sandisk makes a great player too.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>No, you can't use creative on iTunes, but creative gives you its own library software which I like more. You can't use AAC (or whatever that iTunes file is) on creative players, but you can download a converter for free.</p></li>
<li><p>Yes, you can get music from other computers on your creative. You can get music from other computers on your ipod too, it just requires a little more work and you have to go home to be able to play the songs.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Also, Cards4Life, a good amount of my music has come from Limewire and plays perfectly fine on my iPod.</p>
<p>Ive had my iPod 30G since Dec 05 and its still working 110%...you just can't be throwing it around and dropping it a lot. Ive dropped it a few timses, and it's taken its scratches and bruises, but I definently take pretty good care of it.</p>
<p>I'm on my second iPod since June but only because I'd left it in the car not knowing my brother was going to take that car to the airport. He put the iPod in the glove box and left it sitting in the car for 7 weeks...in July and August--the absolute hottest time of year in Iowa! poor iPod...needless to say the heat ruined it. but i got a free replacement =)</p>
<p>iPods definitely DO play music from limewire, as long as it's mp3. You simply import it into itunes and then sync your ipod. I never said the iPod was the best music player. To say that would be a lie. But I'm saying that there's a good reason behind it being the most popular music player in the market, namely ease of use, longevity, good software, and great customer support from Apple. A product doesn't have to be the BEST to be the most popular. Some of the best products aren't the most popular. The most popular product simply has to meet the needs of the most people at a good price.</p>
<p>The iPod is the only way to go. Which one depends on how much music you own and plan to download.</p>